Vine-harvesting machine.



No. 747,314. `PATE1\ITED DEG. 15,1903.

J. BRAKELBY. VINE HARVBSTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25, 1901.

lN0 HODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented December 15, 1903.

PATENT Y OFFICE.

JOSEPH BRAKELEY, OF' FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-IIALF TOASHER BRAKELE'Y, OF BORDENTOWN, NEW JERSEY.

vlNE-HARVESTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,314, dated December15, 1903.

Application filed January 25, 1901. Serial No. 44,752. (No modelf,`

.To all whom it may concern: p

Be it known that I, JOSEPH BRAKELEY, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Freehold, i Mon mou th county, New Jersey, have inventedcertain'lmprovements in Vine- Harvesting Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine for harvesting vinesor plants, such as pea-vines, (hereinafter referred to simply as vines,)in which the crop is mainly at the upper partof the vine, myimprovedmachine being adapted to cutoff the vines at any desired distance abovethe su rface of the ground, so as to harvest only the crop-bearin gportion of the same, and thereby save the expense of carting a'largemass of worthless vines from the field and also overcome theinconvenience of handling this useless massin the shelling orothermachines to whose action the harvested vines are's'ubsequentlysubjected.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of aharvesting-machine constructed in accordance with my invention. of thecutting mechanism and vine-handling devices of the machine. Fig. 3 is atransverse section on the line a afof Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a detachedview of part of the main cutter-bar or knife of the machine.

I have illustrated my invention as applied to an ordinary form ofmowing, reaping, or harvesting machine, of which any desired type may beemployed, l representing the finger-bar of such a machine, 2Vthereciprocated cutting-bar or knife coperating therewith in the usualmanner, and 3 the platform for receiving the harvested portions of thevines or plants. The finger-bar and its knife or cutter are located somedistance above the surface of the'ground, so as to cut the vines orplants at a correspondingly-elevated point, and by preference the typeof machine used is one in which the cutter is adjustable vertically, s'oas to be adj usted to different heights from the surface of the ground.

When vines having the crop-bearing portion comparatively high are'harvested in the usual way by means of an ordinary mowingmachine havingits cutter-bar close to the ground, a large mass of useless vines haveto Fig. 2 is a plan view, on a larger scale,

.be transported and handled in the subsequent treatment of the crop.When an elevated cutter is used, however, this harvesting of uselessvines is prevented; but it becomes necessary to raise the vines for theaction of the cutter, since at the timevof harvesting the plants areusually beaten down or thrown over to one side Orother of lthe row, andsome means for lifting the crop-bearing portions of the vines above thelevel of the cutter must therefore be used.

In the present instance I employon each side of each row of vinesinclined lifting-fingers 4, two pairs of these ngers being shown in thedrawings, as the machine is intended for acting simultaneously upon tworows of vines. The fingers of each pair are fiared apart at their lowerends to such an extent that the stems or stalks of the vines in the rowcan pass between them Without necessitating too close or accurateguidance of the machine, the fingers 4 of each pair converging towardeach other at the top, so that they not only lift the vines,but alsostraighten up the stems or stalks of the same for the action of thecutter of the machine, the upper portion of each finger extendingbackwardly over the finger-bar, cutter, and forward portion of theplatform 3, so as to provide support for the lifted portion of the vineafter the same has been severed and while it is traveling back. wardlyonto the platform 3. These elevated portions of the fingers 4 aresupported upon studs or p osts 5, rising from the rear portion of thefinger-bar 1 and from the forward portion of the platform 3, althoughany desired means of supporting the fingers at the proper level abovethe cutter may be adopted.

Outside of each pair of lifter-fingers 4 and also between the two pairsare supplementary lifter-fingers 6, inclined as to their forwardportions and extending backwardly over the finger-bar and forwardportion of the platformas to their upper portions, these supplementarylifters serving to raise and support the mass of vines not directlyacted upon by the main lifter fingers 4. The downwardly-bent front endsof the fingers 4 have shoes 4a, and thelike portions of the ngers 6 havesimilar adjustable shoes 6a, each of said adjustable shoes beingadjustably held IOO of the same is located.

To prevent the foliage of a row of vines outwardly beyond a row which isbeing harvested from interfering with the free harvesting of said vines,I employ at the outer end of the linger-bar structure of the machine alaterally-deflected lifting-finger 8, which serves to push away the massof uncut vines from those which are being harvested, and in connectionwith this outer finger I use a vertical bar 9 and cutter bar or blade10, whereby the mass of vines outwardly beyond the swath which is beingharvested will be severed from the vines composing said swath.

Various means may be employed for imparting the desired reciprocatingmovement of the vertical cutting bar or knife, the means shown in thepresent instance for accomplishing this object being a bell-crank lever11, hung to a suitable bearing on the fixed structure of the machine andconnected bya link 12 to the vertical cutter-bar, the lower end of thedepending arm of said bell-crank lever 11 having an antifriction-rollerwhich is adapted to an inclined slot 13, Fig. 4, in the enlarged outerend of the main cutter-bar 2 of the machine, whereby as said bar isreciprocated vibrating movement will be imparted to the lever 11 andconsequent vertical reciprocating movement to the vertical cutter-bar.

In its broader embodiments my invention contemplates the use of anyavailable form of cutting mechanism and is not, therefore,

limited to the specific forms of reciprocating cutters shown anddescribed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent- 1. Areaping or harvesting machine havingl an elevatedbar carrying fingers, a. transversely-reciprocable cutter movable onsaid finger-bar, a platform and a pair of liftingfingers supported in anelevated position upon said platform and finger-bar, said lingers beingattached to the machine above and in the rear of the cutter andprojecting forwardly and downwardly in advance of the cutter anddiverging toward their lower front ends, substantially as described.

2. The combination in a harvesting or reaping machine of an elevatedcutter, witha pair of rearwardly-con verging lifting-fingers attached tothe machine in the rear of and above said cutter and adapted to run oneon each side of a row of vines so as to lift the same for the action ofthe cutter-bar,and su pplementary lifting-lingers parallel with the lineof motion of the machine and placed on each side of said mainlifting-fingers, substantially as described.

The combination in a harvesting-machine, of an elevated cutter having inone end a slot inclined to the length of said cutter, a vertical cutterat the slotted end of said knife, a bell-crank lever supported from theplatform and having one end in engagement with said vertical cutter andthe other end in the slot in the end of the horizontal cutter,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH BRAKELEY.

Witnesses:

WILL, A. BARR, F. E. BECHTOLD.

